Iowa State Travels to Baylor for Saturday Showdown

AMES, Iowa - Riding a three-match winning streak, the Iowa State volleyball team takes its show on the road as the Cyclones (13-6, 7-2 Big 12) take on the Baylor Bears (11-14, 3-6 Big 12). That match begins Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Ferrell Center in Waco.

Live stats for the match will be availible and cyclones.com will host a live blog during the match.

Cyclone Headlines

Riding a three-match win streak, the Iowa State volleyball team takes a trip to Waco, Texas to take on the Baylor Bears Saturday at 7 p.m.

The Cyclones are coming off a five-set victory at home over Texas Tech Wednesday night, again aided by one of the best serving performances in Iowa State history.

Iowa State posted 15 service aces with Mackenzie Bigbee, Kristen Hahn, Jenelle Hudson and Tory Knuth each posting three aces. Ciara Capezio led the Iowa State attack with 16 kills and had a double-double with 10 digs. Hudson had a double-double with 36 assists and 21 digs and Hahn had 28 digs, her 43rd career match with at least 20 digs.

Along with ISU’s 13 service aces against TCU last Saturday, the Cyclones’ combined total of 28 service aces is the program’s highest two-match total for aces since 1988, when ISU combined for 31 aces via 12 aces at Iowa and 19 against Nebraska-Omaha.

Kristen Hahn continues to be one of the best liberos in the coutnry. The senior leads the Big 12 and is ranked fifth nationally with 5.71 digs per set. Hahn won her conference-record 16th Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week award for her efforts against Kansas and TCU.

Iowa State has been one of the best serving teams in the country. The Cyclones, as they have for the entirety of the 2013 season, lead the Big 12 in service aces per set (1.77 per set) and are the leaders in total aces in spite of playing the second-fewest sets in the league this year.

ISU has three of the top six servers in the Big 12 at its disposal. Middle blocker Tory Knuth leads the Big 12 at 0.50 aces per set, Ciara Capezio ranks third at 0.35 aces per set and Caitlin Nolan ranks sixth with 0.29 aces per frame.

Five of Iowa State’s six losses have come to teams with an RPI in the top-25. Those losses were to Texas (No. 1), Nebraska (No. 10), San Diego (No. 18), Oklahoma (No. 15), and Illinois (No. 21). At No. 39 in the RPI, St. Mary’s is ISU’s other loss in 2013.

About Baylor

The Baylor Bears are 11-14 overall and 3-6 in Big 12 play coming into Saturday’s match against Iowa State.

BU was swept at Kansas Wednesday night. Zoe Adom led the Bears attack with nine kills.

Adom, a Preseason All-Big 12 selection, has led the Baylor attack this season with 3.01 kills per set.

Laura Jones has become an important contributor to the BU attack with 2.44 kills per set.

Adrien Richburg is the Bears’ most efficient hitter, with the middle blokcer recording her 1.88 kills per set at a .287 hitting percentage.

The Bears have been transitioning to a new setter with Morgan Reed running the show for Baylor the last two matches.

Saturday will be the 38th meeting between the two programs with Iowa State holding a 19-18 edge over the Bears in the all-time series. ISU has won the last eight meetings between the two sides.

The Cyclones swept Baylor back on Sept. 28 in Hilton Coliseum. Kristen Hahn recorded 21 digs, Mackenzie Bigbee had 11 digs and Tory Knuth had one of her two four-ace matches this season.